This invention relates to rescue devices and more particularly to a carriage for moving an incapacitated person down a stairway.
1. Field of the Invention
Some individuals working or living at high elevations in buildings are unable to travel stairways and must rely on elevators in the building for moving from floor to floor. Fire restrictions prohibit elevator use in the event of fire, bomb threats, explosions, blackouts, or other emergency conditions in most buildings. When the stairs must be relied upon as the sole means of escape in the event of an emergency, there are, in most circumstances, able bodied individuals present who can assist those who require help in descending stairs.
This invention relates to an improved carriage for providing such assistance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,234, issued Sep. 25, 1984, to Egen, for Carriage for Traversing Stairs discloses a seat with an upright back supported at its sides upon two support units comprising an endless belt which extends along a rigid longitudinal frame around two pulleys mounted upon horizontal axes at the opposite ends of the frames.
The belts extending around these pulleys form two longitudinal runs between the pulleys and act as a brake to retard movement of the frame down a stairway under the control of an operator grasping a pair of handles extending upward from the chair back.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,813, issued Aug. 25, 1987, to Misawa et al, for Carrier for Rescuing Patients describes a frame having a pair of lower horizontal portions and upwardly inclined portions adjacent to the horizontal portions at their rearward ends.
Pairs of front and rear wheels on the frame support a pair of crawlers engaged with the frame for contacting stairs as the device is moved downwardly under the control of an operator grasping the upright seat back portion. A centrifugal brake is provided for slowing the rotation of either the front or rear wheels to keep the carriage under control in traversing a stairway. Traveling wheels are mounted on the frame for moving the carrier across a flat service.
This invention is believed distinctive over these and other similar patient rescuing carriages by providing a low profile toboggan type carriage for moving a patient down a stairway under the control of one or two operators.
In this respect, U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,887, issued Aug. 10, 1965, to McKelvey for Sled, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,000, issued Aug. 17, 1971, to Bergstrom for a Security Device for Sled are believed to represent the state-of-the-art of toboggan type sleds which are similar in some respects to the present invention.